FRANKFURT 04 April 2020 – The Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt assisted in the repatriation to Manila of 16 Filipino seafarers from the cruise ship MV Amadea at Frankfurt Airport last April 04.

The German cruise ship MV Amadea operated by Schulte Cruise arrived in Bremerhaven Port on April 02 where it disembarked more than five hundred passengers and crew. The company reported no incidence of COVID-19 on the ship. From Bremerhaven, the seafarers were ferried in a bus chartered by the company to Frankfurt Airport that took approximately five hours.

At the airport, Consul Rogelio Villanueva Jr. addressed the seafarers and assured them of the government’s commitment to ensure their safe and early return to the Philippines. He also briefed the seafarers on the implementation of quarantine procedures by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), as well as the assistance to be extended by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) upon their arrival in Manila.

The successful repatriation of the seafarers from MV Amadea was made possible through joint efforts of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Berlin who coordinated with the Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine, Schulte Cruise, and the BSM Crew Service Center Manila. END

April is Filipino Food Month.
Let us preserve our culinary heritage.

Here’s a “bowl of LUGAW” to comfort you during these times.

What is your best Filipino comfort food?
Let us know! Please comment below.

#FilipinoFoodMonth
#FilipinoComfortFood

6 March 2020 – In celebration of National Women’s Month this March, an exhibition entitled “Art Beyond the Spectrum: An Exhibition Featuring the Artwork of a Girl with Autism – Ms. Mina Ellen Felipe-Hanihara,” was opened today, 6 March 2020, at the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt.

The art exhibition featured the artwork of Ms. Mina Ellen Felipe-Hanihara, a Manila-based Filipino woman with autism. The activity intends to change the way the public perceives women with disability by showcasing their talent. It also aims to draw attention to the situation of women with disability, such as autism, who may experience levels of vulnerability and marginalization due to prevailing socio-cultural norms, structure of service delivery and discrimination on the basis of disability and gender.

“The Philippine Consulate joins the international community in celebrating women empowerment. It is both the duty of the government and its citizens to take steps to end discrimination against women, especially women with disability. They belong to the vulnerable sector of our society, thus we must ensure that they get the protection that they need,” Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia said in her remarks. She further encouraged the Filipino-German community to join the call to advance women’s rights and gender equality, break gender stereotypes, and stop gender-based violence and discrimination against women.

The opening was attended by the members of the Filipino-German community in Frankfurt and nearby states, many of whom were impressed with the artistic skills of Ms. Hanihara, a Manila-based autistic artist.  They expressed admiration for her artwork, which featured colorful images of nature, plants, flowers and landscapes. A brief video of the event was also produced by Post for viewing in its Facebook page.

With the theme “We Make Change Work for Women,” the Consulate also prepared  month-long activities to highlight the empowerment of women as active contributors to and claimholders of development. It has designated 6 March as “Purple Friday” and provided a “Women’s Special Lane” at its Consular Section to cater to its female applicants. Other activities lined up for the Women’s Month are the launching of a social media campaign, distribution of information materials and video showing of women’s issues.

Philippine Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988 provides for the annual conduct of the National Women’s month celebration in March to recognize the contributions of Filipino women in society. END

WATCH: Frankfurt PCG welcomes the Philippine delegation to the 2020 Ambiente Trade Fair in a reception held today, 10 February 2020 at the Consulate.

07 February 2020 – A delegation of Philippine exhibitors representing 24 companies and officials from DTI and CITEM kicked off its participation in this year’s Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany with a welcome cocktail reception today at the Fair’s Philippine pavilion. Ambiente, reputed to be the world’s largest trade fair for consumer goods, has been an annual meeting point for global suppliers and trade buyers of this industry.

In addition to the private sector exhibitors, delegations from the local governments of Regions 2, 3 and 5 were on hand to observe and embark on a benchmarking mission of the trade fair, which would benefit small and medium enterprises in their respective regions.

Gracing the reception were the Philippines’ top diplomats in Germany, Ambassador Theresa Dizon-de Vega who flew in from Berlin and Consul General Evelyn Austria-Garcia, who heads the newly reopened Consulate General in Frankfurt. They were joined by Mr. Rico Garcia, Deputy Consul General Emil Fernandez, Commercial Counsellor Althea Antonio of PTIC-Berlin and Tourism Director Margarita Valdes of PDOT-Frankfurt. Guests and potential buyers took part in the reception, which featured an assortment of Philippine drinks and snacks.

Consul General Austria-Garcia expressed her delight with the turnout from the Philippines, noting current challenges travelers are faced with. “I continue to be an advocate of the Philippines’ participation in trade and tourism fairs,” she said. “They are windows to new markets, create opportunities for networking and allow participants to see current trends in their industries,” she added. She also lauded Filipinos’ artistic skills and creativity, which she noted are evident in the products they create.

Spearheading the Philippines’ involvement in the Fair are CITEM and the Philippines’ Trade Office in Berlin. It was explained that the Philippine pavilions carry the Lifestyle Philippines banner with the participation theme Hands That Work “to celebrate the innate capabilities of Filipinos to create the most design-oriented yet functional pieces from the most mundane of things.”

2020 marks the fifth consecutive year of Philippine participation in the event, thanks largely to the continued support of Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda of the House of Representatives. The former Senator has built a reputation not just as a staunch advocate of Philippine culture and environmental issues, but also as a champion of Philippine exporters seeking to establish a foothold in international markets.

The Fair covers three sectors: dining (kitchenware), giving (gift items) and living (furniture, lighting, home accessories and seasonal décor). Occupying an exhibition space of 306,500 square meters, the 2019 edition of Ambiente featured 4,451 exhibitors from 92 companies, with 85 percent coming from outside Germany. It welcomed 136,000 trade visitors from 166 countries, the majority of which are from Germany, Italy, China, France, UK, Netherlands, United States, Spain, Switzerland, Russia and South Korea. (END)

Consul General Evelyn Austria-Garcia traveled to Duesseldort last January 25 and 26 where she attended the 2020 Boat Consumer Trade Fair (BOOT), which is reputed to be the world’s largest trade fair for boat and water sports. 14 dive-resort exhibitors and a partner airline offered attractive dive-travel packages at the 137-square meter Philippine pavilion. The country has gained a niche market for itself vis-à-vis other popular dive areas in the world. 2019 saw a 13 percent growth in German travellers. Spearheading the Philippines’ participation is the Frankfurt-based Philippine Department of Tourism office.

 

 

 

 

 

The Philippine Honorary Consulate in Stuttgart has geared up its economic and cultural diplomacy activities as it transfers to its new office location at Königstraße 28, 70173 Stuttgart.

The Honorary Consulate has undertaken the following activities:

1. On 4 January 2020, the Honorary Consulate participated in the annual celebration of Sinulog Festival in Rottenburg. Now on its 26th year, the event was organized by the Rottenburg-Stuttgart Diocese. The event started off with a Holy Mass officiated by Filipino priest and coordinator for the Diocese, Fr. Jonathan Galope-Ramoso and Rev. Thomas Weißhaar, Reverend Canon and Officer of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart Diocese. A procession from the St. Martin Cathedral followed after the Mass leading to the Festival Hall where the Sinulog celebration was held. The full-day’s Programme included the traditional Sinulog Dance, Cultural Dances from various groups and messages from the Santo Nino Rottenburg-Stuttgart President Fred Silacan. Ambassador Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega and Honorary Consul for Baden-Württemberg Dr. Axel Neumahr which were delivered by Rhodaliza Steegmaier, PHC Stuttgart’s Consular Assistant, on behalf of both officials. The event was attended by some 600 Sto. Nino devotees.

2. To celebrate the transfer to its new location, Honorary Consul Dr. Neumahr hosted a simple gathering promoting Filipino cuisine to the employees of BRP Renaud and Partner law firm on 14 January 2020. BRP is one of the leading law firm with more than 60 lawyers and patent lawyers and with presence in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. During the event, Filipino food such as pancit, lumpiangsShanghai, buchi, cassava cake, mango float among others were served.

3. In its effort to support Philippine tourism, Honorary Consul Dr. Axel Neuhmar attended the Caravan, Motor and Touristic Holiday Fair popularly known as CMT Urlaubsmesse which runs from 11 to 19 January 2020. The country’s booth was spearheaded by the Department of Tourism in Frankfurt under Margarita Valdes and Director for Southern Europe and Mario Sicup as project head, and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Germany as its partner agency.

4. In November last year, Honorary Consul Dr. Axel Neumahr attended the 25th year celebration of the Philippinisch-Deutsch Nordschwarzwald e.V. In his remarks, he expressed appreciation to the organization and the municipality of Birkenfeld through its Mayor Mr. Martin Steiner for the support they have given to the Honorary Consulate throughout the years, particularly in hosting one of the performances of the visiting Choir Imusicapella during last year’s Independence Day celebration. Ambassador Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega who was also present during the event, commended the organization for actively promoting the uniqueness of Filipino culture through its various activities for the past quarter of a century. The Philippinisch-Deutsch Nordschwarzwald e.V., is one of the most active Filipino-German organizations with the region of Baden-Württemberg focusing on cultural dances.

5. Honorary Consul Dr. Axel Neumahr visited three Filipino trainees who are among the top graduates at Porsche Centerin Stuttgart. Filipino nationals Jennievib Blemis, Mark Ivan Caisip and Daryl Nakila spent a three-month assignment in the workshop which is aimed at improving their skills in car manufacturing. Mr. Torsten Klavs, Porsche’s Manager for Qualifications Concept commended the three Filipino nationals and praised their job well done during the training program.

20 January – At the invitation of Father Rodel Liguid of the Archdiocese of Cologne, personnel of the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt joined the annual celebration of the feast of the Santo Niño in Sank Agustin, North Rhine-Westphalia. Consul Rogelio Villanueva Jr. led the Consulate team composed of Lolita Balansag, Violeta Bautista, Susanie Gonzales, and Rene Mangune, POLO Assistant.

In his remarks during the program, Consul Villanueva highlighted the Filipino people’s strong devotion to the Santo Niño as expressed in various forms such as the renowned Sinulog in Cebu, Ati-Atihan in Aklan and Dinagyang in Iloilo. He added that Filipino communities around the world also hold their respective celebrations of the Feast of the Santo Niño.

The Filipino tradition of paying homage to the Child Jesus traces its roots in Cebu when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan presented an image of the Santo Niño to Rajah Humabon. Every year during the month January, the feast of the Santo Niño is celebrated by Filipino Catholic communities across Germany. Father Liguid asked the participants of this year’s celebration to pray for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

The Consulate team took advantage of the visit to conduct registration for the Overseas Voting as well as provide information on POLO-OWWA services. There were twenty-two registrants for the Overseas Voting.

There are an estimated 4,200 Filipinos living in North Rhine-Westphalia. – END

The country’s creative edge in producing distinctly designed handcrafted products takes centerstage once again as Philippine manufacturers join Ambiente 2020 this coming 7-11 February 2020, at Messe Frankfurt, Germany.

Under the LifestylePhilippines brand, 24-strong furniture and home décor manufacturers that represent some of the artisan regions in the country will highlight handcrafted and consciously-made products that speak of story and purpose.

Mayor Christoph Oeldorf graced the commemoration of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, Philippine national hero, which was organized by the Heidelberg/Wilhelmsfeld Chapter of the Knights of Rizal this 30th of December at Wilhelmsfeld’s Rizal Park. Filipinos from as far way as Switzerland, France and Saudi Arabia joined the event.

In their remarks, Mayor Oeldorf and Chapter Commander of the Knights of Rizal Dr. Reinhold Lovenich recalled the ideals that Rizal propagated and the close relationships he had with German mentors. Dr. Lovenich also underscored Rizal’s desire to be in solidarity with the common Filipino during his time and unite his countrymen.